Unaccompanied Juveniles in INS CustodyReport Number I-2001-009
September 28, 2001

APPENDIX III

Unaccompanied Juvenile Data

IN FY 2000 the Juvenile Program held 4,136 unaccompanied juveniles in custody. Presented below is a demographic description of this unaccompanied juvenile population. In addition, data on the length of time juveniles spent in custody, the principal apprehension locations, data on instances of secure detention, and the length of time juveniles spent in secure detention is provided.

Demographics of the Unaccompanied Juveniles
In the Custody of the Juvenile Program, FY 2000

Based on first custody event for 4,136 juveniles in custody for greater than 72 hours.

3,113 (75.3%) Male; 1,023 (24.7%) Female

Age

Number of Juveniles

Percentage of Juveniles

Cumulative Percentage

17 or older
16
15
14
13
12 or Younger

1,516
1,145
638
296
154
387

36.5
27.7
15.4
7.2
3.7
9.5

36.5
64.2
79.6
86.8
90.5
100.0

Average age 15.3 years old; Median age 16 years old

Country of Origin:

Country

Number of Juveniles

Percentage of Juveniles

HondurasEl SalvadorGuatemalaChina Mexico

894717656617541

21.617.3 15.9 14.9 13.0

Top five countries represent 82.8 percent of the cases;
The top ten countries represent 93.4 percent.

In FY 2000, 1,414 (34.2 percent) of the unaccompanied juveniles in custody were housed in a secure facility at one point during their stay. These 1,414 juveniles represented 1,933 instances of secure detention. 43

Reason for Secure Detention

Number of Instances

Percentage of Instances

Temporary StaysSafety or SecurityAdults, Juvenile Delinquents

1,147422364

592219

Source: FY 2000 JAMS Database

The length of time in secure detention varies substantially depending upon the reason for placement. Juveniles temporarily placed in secure detention are generally there for a very short time before they are transferred to a shelter.

In FY 2000, the Juvenile Program housed 200,361 juvenile-days of detention. Of these, 158,114 were non-secure juvenile-days (78.9 percent) and 42,247 were juvenile-days of secure detention (21.1 percent). Of the 42,247 juvenile-days of secure detention, 13,367 were for adults, or juvenile delinquents; 16,655 were for temporary stays; and 12,225 were for safety or security.

For every instance in JAMS, there is a book-in date and a book-out date. The difference between book-out and book-in dates represents the total man-days of detention for that instance. We added up the total number of man-days of detention for each reason for secure (or non-secure) detention to arrive at the totals below.

The INS had 36 foster beds with options for additional beds on a space available basis at three facilities. The INS uses foster beds for housing very young juveniles, girls, and juveniles in long-term detention because they do not have a sponsor.

The INS has had negative experiences with foster care. In the early 1990s, in one case, 130 Chinese juveniles were placed in foster care. More than 100 of these juveniles left the homes without notification. The INS cannot account for them. Because of this experience, the INS has restricted using foster care considerably.

INS managers stated several reasons for not expanding the use of foster care: the safety of juveniles smuggled into the United States, the welfare of juveniles placed in foster care, the desire of the juveniles to speak to someone in their native language, and ease of management. In foster care settings, juveniles are frequently alone without supervision, vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by smugglers. INS managers believe shelter care can provide closer and better supervision of juveniles with greater opportunity for shelter staff to respond to any physical or psychological problems of the juveniles. Shelter care and group homes provide juveniles a better opportunity to speak with staff in their native language and to interact with other juveniles who shared similar experiences. Finally, the managers stated that it is more difficult to manage and adequately supervise foster care beds.

The INS makes follow-up contacts with the Chinese and Indian juveniles following their release to sponsors in the United States. The INS contracts with two volunteer agencies to conduct home assessments and follow-up reviews. The follow-up reviews consist of a minimum of four face-to-face visits at 14, 30, 60 and 90 days after release. The first and last visits are conducted in the sponsor's home. In addition, a checklist is completed at 14 days and reports are submitted to the INS at 45 and 90 days.

Follow-up visits to sponsors ensure that: the juvenile is safe and secure, the juvenile continues to reside in the home, the quality and arrangements in the home have not changed since placement, the juvenile is attending school, and the juvenile is not working. This last requirement is important because Chinese juveniles are pressured to work in order to pay off the debt owed to smugglers.

Footnotes

Instances refer to unique custody events. An individual can have more than one secure custody event if he/she is transferred from one secure facility to another during their stay.